“I used to think that confidence came from what other people thought about me, and boys and everything else. But now I realize that confidence comes from what I feel about myself, and reassuring myself that I can do whatever I want and be whoever I want,” Lovato told the magazine.

“Since I went to treatment, there have been days when it’s felt really easy, and I’ve felt great about where I am. But then I have moments when it’s not. That’s life,” she said. “You can’t just take your mind and your body into the shop and get it fixed. It doesn’t come out repaired. It’s not like a car. It takes time – pace yourself. Every day is a new opportunity to change your life and be who you want to be.”

Lovato said for every negative thought she has, “I tell myself five things that I’m grateful for.”

She also surrounds herself with friends who are “going places” and “working toward their dreams.”

“When you’re growing and the people around you aren’t, that’s when you have to start shedding them. I’ve done that a lot over the past few years, but it has been so worth it, because the people in my life today inspire me to keep being creative, to have fun, and to be a good person,” she told Seventeen.

Being a good person is more important to Lovato than fame or money.

“When I give back, I don’t question my self-worth,” she said. “I know that if my career were to fall apart tomorrow – even if I were to never have money or fame again – I’d still have value in my soul, because I know that I can have an effect on someone else’s life.”